Once the council returned to open session, they voted on nine items, excluding the permit request from the Zayo Group, which was not listed as an action item on the agenda. For seven of those items the council voted to either authorize or proceed “as discussed in executive session” without further elaboration.

No action was taken on two items: the CPI increase and the Pixler litigation.

A number of citizens who attended and waited for the council to return to open session seemed interested in the possible action on the Pixler litigation. During the public forum portion of the meeting, resident Michael Murray said the city had not acted properly when issuing code violations for junk cars and exceeding parking capacity at Pixler’s business, Tim’s Auto Tech. His comments drew applause from many in the audience.

Court records on file in the Wise County District Clerk’s Office in Decatur indicate that the city filed a lawsuit on Philip T. Pixler for violation of city ordinances related to junk vehicles and parking issues in October 2017 after Pixler failed to pay $8,000 in fines. That lawsuit is still pending.

The council did take action on a number of items prior to the closed session. Those actions included:

agreeing to a resolution regarding an individual’s water bill;

approving sponsorship and street closures for the annual Cruisin’ Days event Oct. 11-13.